2023 Lexus RX Performance

One area in which the RX appears to have taken a step back is performance. Last year's 295-hp naturally aspirated V6 engine is gone and has been replaced with a turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder with 275 horsepower. When extracting maximum power, the slowest Lexus RX's 0-60 time is 7.6 seconds for the FWD RX 350 (the AWD takes 7.2 seconds). Last year's V6 snuck in under seven seconds and that was already considered somewhat slow by class standards. However, it must be seen in perspective, and the turbocharged engine's 317 lb-ft of torque is developed at a lowly 1,700 rpm, compared to the old V6's 268 lb-ft at 4,700 rpm. There is a lot more bottom-end grunt and in daily driving, the strong torque delivery makes the RX feel faster than it is. The upside, of course, is significantly better fuel economy. The RX 350h hybrids offer even better efficiency, but no better performance, with the benchmark sprint being 7.4 seconds.

If you want the best performance obtainable from an RX, you must shell out over $60k for the RX 500h F Sport Performance, which has 366 hp and gets to 60 in 5.9 seconds. The top speed of all the normal gas and hybrid trims is restricted to 124 mph, and the RX 500h to 130 mph. As before, trailering is not a strong suit, and the Lexus RX's towing capacity has not been increased over that of the old model. The 3,500-pound rating means the RX can tow far less than most rivals in this class.

The default engine in the Lexus RX is a 2.4-liter turbocharged Dynamic Force four-cylinder with 275 hp and 317 lb-ft of torque, replacing the old 3.5 NA V6. This is 20 hp down but 49 lb-ft up on last year's V6. Gone, too, is the CVT automatic, and Lexus has replaced it with a traditional torque-converter eight-speed automatic transmission, driving either the front or all four wheels.

These are the only two powertrains available on the gas RX, but you can also choose from the hybrid powertrains. The normal RX 350h models get a naturally aspirated Atkinson-cycle 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine combined with two electric motors, a small battery pack, and a CVT automatic, good for 246 hp and 233 lb-ft and driving all four wheels by default; no FWD hybrids are offered. The top-performing model is also a hybrid but combines the 2.4-liter turbo engine with the hybrid system to develop 366 hp and 406 lb-ft of torque, with AWD standard. This setup is mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. The AWD system is not designed for off-road work and the RX lacks the ground clearance or dual-range transmission to venture far off the beaten track.

The reason Lexus moved to downsized four-cylinder engines for the RX is efficiency, and the EPA rates every Lexus RX's mpg estimates as better than before. The RX 350 models with their 2.4L turbo-four return 22/29/25 mpg city/highway/combined according to the EPA in front-wheel-drive format. This is an improvement of 2 mpg over last year's V6 for each of the three test cycles, despite the loss of the super-efficient CVT automatic. The all-wheel-drive RX 350s achieve 21/28/24 mpg, which is a similar improvement. However, the hybrid made the biggest strides, and replacing the old 3.5L V6 with a 2.5L four-cylinder paid dividends, returning EPA estimates of 37/34/36 mpg, way ahead of the old RX 450h's 31/28/30 mpg. Even the RX 500h F Sport Performance's 27/28/27 mpg estimates are very good, considering the performance.

The normal RX 350s have a 17.83-gallon fuel capacity, which should be good for a range of 445 miles with FWD or 427 miles with RWD. If you want the best gas mileage from a Lexus RX, the new RX 350h hybrid is the way to go. The AWD hybrids can all hold 17.17 gallons and the RX 350h models get 515 miles on a tank, while the RX 500h F Sport Performance will reach 463 miles.